Waterproof, breathable garments are well-known in the art. These garments are often constructed from multiple layers in which each layer adds a certain functionality. For example, a garment could be constructed using an outer textile layer, a waterproof, breathable film layer, and an inner textile layer. It is often desirable to have the multiple layers bonded together with an adhesive layer to create a laminate and prevent the layers from sliding past each other to give the look and feel of a single-layered garment. The process of bonding the layers together, however, has the detrimental effects of making the garment stiffer and noisier when worn. This not only reduces the enjoyment of wearing these garments, but can also affect performance in applications where noise control is critical, such as in hunting or military applications.
In addition to the stiffness and noise concerns, there are other reasons that a uniformly bonded laminate may be undesirable. For instance, if tensions are not well-controlled during the lamination process, the resulting laminate can curl due to the residual stresses created during lamination. Such curling of the laminate makes garment construction problematic as it is difficult to lay the pieces flat while sewing. Conversely, if the layers are not bonded together at all, the complexity of garment construction may increase due to each material having to be cut and laid out separately.
Further concerns with uniformly bonded laminates arise when stretch properties are desirable within waterproof, breathable garments and articles. Issues ranging from fit to donning and doffing ease to comfort during movement, to name but a few, can be significant challenges when working with uniformly bonded laminates. Conventional stretchable waterproof breathable garments have been described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,443,511, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,287. Limitations still exist with respect to the high stretch forces required to stretch these uniformly bonded laminate materials.
Therefore, a need in the art exists for a laminate article that can maintain the positive attributes of a bonded, multi-layer article while reducing noise, stiffness, stretch force and residual lamination stresses.